NavList:

I was kind of reluctant to discuss this, as Frank was rather scathing in his review.  I didn't want to do a rewrite of Lagan's Barefoot Navigator.  I also didn't want to repeat Tristan Gooley's The Natural Navigator, which is a bit of a reprise of Gatty's Finding Your Way Without Map and Compass.   The goal was to a) accompany the course I teach and b) to have more of an historical context 

I chose Frank as one of the reviewers primarily because I knew he'd be harsh (which he was).   Part of this was that I was nervous about getting certain historical details correct.   In the acknowledgements, I give ample credit to NavList and Frank in particular, along with David Burch, who I also credit with doing a lot of good work that inspired me. David was very encouraging in this project and helped me out a lot with many details - a lot of these come from his book Emergency Navigation, which I also credit a lot in my book.  The other reviewer was a specialist in the anthropology of Oceania, who was very encouraging, but was also helpful to point out many bits that I needed to straighten out.  

Personally, I think it's a better book than Frank's review, but I'm taking a larger view of navigation, and of course I'm biased in favor of the material - why I chose it in the first place.   We don't discuss wave piloting in the Pacific Islands in NavList, but this is a form of navigation, as is the use of wind compasses.   Figuring ocean currents is important in dead reckoning, so I have a chapter on ocean currents.   Leeway is also an important issue in navigation, and I discuss the fluid dynamics associated with sails and some of the historical development of sails.   

It's certainly *not* a Raft Book, but I find that Gatty's material leaves a lot to be desired.  

I don't want to pick any fight here, but I think it's a good book, and worth taking a look at.   It's just not a Raft Book.  

There will be reviews coming out from other sources - e.g. there's one coming out from the Journal of Higher Education fairly soon.   If there is any outside chance that someone might be interested in the book, I'd encourage you to look at those reviews before passing judgement.  

Thanks.

John Huth